The Pride of Humanity
by ilikedan
Summary: After the events of the Promised Day, Selim Bradley settles into his daily life with his mother but just how dangerous are the shadows that lurk behind his smiling, young face? Spoilers for Chapter 108.


Little Selim Bradley watched with big eyes as Führer-king Grumman made to exit his mother's estate. The elder man gazed at the young boy with suspicion before giving him a light wave. Selim waved his hand in return, though with perchance less vigor than a normal boy his age. Grumman barely registered this as he left, vaguely wondering what he would do if the child became a problem. He made a note to himself to speak to Mustang about it at the next meeting and gave no more thought about it. Once the Führer was inside the car, a brief shadow crossed the boy's face. Had anyone been paying attention, they would have seen confusion, and anger quickly race across the small child's features. The approach of footsteps behind him evaporated any expressions on his face.

"Mama! The birdie, will it be okay?" The boy asked throwing himself at his mother's skirts. "It looks so sick and sad, you can help it can't you?" Mrs. Bradley smiled down on her boy and patted his head.

"There are some bandages in the house, we'll get him fixed up and all better real soon" The boy brightened at her words. He reached for her hand and they made the trek back to the house as he tried to convince his mother to let him keep the bird. "I don't know Selim, you seem to have an awful hard time keeping animals" The boy moaned how he would be super extra careful with _this _bird. The guards smiled as the pair entered the mansion. The young boy had come far from when he had been brought back here a bit over two years ago; none had any worries on the success of the former homunculus.

Mrs. Bradley was the most, and the least worried for her son. She hadn't believed the crazy story that her husband and adopted son were actually homunculi bent on destruction. Central soldiers, Mustang, Hawkeye, even Grumman himself could not convince the stubborn woman of her family's deception. Only Edward Elric with his large pitying golden eyes had convinced her as he handed her the barely visible speck that remained of her son. Since that day she had vowed that Selim would never be a threat to anyone again. She spent all her days with her son, letting him alone only for bed time. She raised him to believe that her husband was kind hearted and mischievous, who loved to play hooky from work and could exasperate her so. Despite the cruel stories she heard, she still loved him and knew some small part of him felt the same. So she planned to spend the rest of her life keeping her son tied to humanity as she awaited the day she would see her beloved king again.

Even the overly paranoid Elric brothers, who had first hand experience fighting the tiny homunculus, felt no concern over his continued existence. Dear sweet Alphonse Elric stopped by every few weeks to play with the boy and catch up with Mrs. Bradley. Selim liked it when Alphonse came over; he always brought gifts and had no qualms about rolling in the grass with the eager child. Alphonse encouraged and finally outright demanded that that Edward go see the broken family of two. Excuses were made and arguments ensued, until finally Edward relented and visited the Bradley's on a trip to Central. It had been an uneventful visit. It was a bit awkward since the last time they had spoken; Edward was delivering Selim to her, wrapped in a red coat.

Selim was trembling with excitement to finally meet the famous hero alchemist of the Promised Day. Edward's laugh was forced as he stared at the young boy with his worshipping gaze, so much like the time in the library years ago. Bad memories surfaced as the child tugged on his trousers in hopes he would play with him like his brother had. Despite all this, it was a pleasant trip. Regardless of his mixed feelings towards the young homunculus, he trusted Mrs. Bradley and her teachings to keep the boy in line. As he left he paused and gave the child, to his utter delight, a light pat on the head, and promised he would come back soon. Even the former Fullmetal Alchemist held no suspicions toward the child; he did however, promise himself to never ever let his children near him.

Visitors came in and out of the Bradley mansion. The Mrs. made sure it was always full of people so that Selim would not grow resentful of humans and their shortcomings. The Armstrong siblings stopped by infrequently, and Olivia spent most of her time glaring heartily at the boy looking for slipups, so he was himself relieved at that they remained infrequent. Brigadier General Mustang and his loyal Captain visited the most, about every two weeks. Hawkeye was always uneasy, as stood fully alert unconsciously rubbing her cheek. She made conversation and was polite, but could never relax while the boy was in the room, watching them. The former Colonel handled himself better, even going as far as to smile and play with the boy. Yet, like his subordinate, he never felt his shoulders loosen up until after they had left the large manor. Neither had to voice their worries, as they knew each other well enough that words were not necessary, but they both hoped their instincts were reacting to past concerns rather than a reemerging threat.

It had seemed that the homunculi were truly dead and Selim Bradley would finally be free. He remembered nothing of his past dealings, photos and sketches of his 'siblings' were met only with confusion and other than a few physical abnormalities, he was declared perfectly healthy. During the day he smiled, played, greeted guests and enjoyed his life. No one ever bothered to ask what the boy did at night. Selim Bradley would crawl in bed every night and quake in fear, fear that the shadows would come alive as they did every night. Screaming was useless, he would try to cry for help, but then the urge would just… fade away. In the night, the shadows enveloped him in a cocoon, and something… evil would occur. Selim would disappear as the night dawned, his thoughts and feelings would be replaced by the cold calculating hate of Pride.

He would step out of the bed, his shadows hanging at his feet. After hundreds of years of plotting and waiting, he was nothing if not patient. His power was weak; he needed more time to grow before he could begin to gather more philosopher's stones. He reached into the depths of his drawer and pulled out an album categorizing all the important people and recent developments. No one thought it strange that the boy would want a cut out article on the Führer or a recent letter from Edward Elric. A shadow of a smile graced his face and he added the picture of Edward's new family along side the letter. Yes, Selim felt random urges, pullings that prompted him to do peculiar things at times. For now, Pride had to be content with ruling the night, where his shadows grew a little more each evening. And Selim would have to deal with the unconscious invasion, which continued to eat at his body until finally nothing of the boy would remain. He could wait, be it five years or twenty years, he would let time do his work for him. He would watch the world grow accustomed to the peace and the see the children of heroes grow up.

Hiding behind Selim, he would buy his time until he could gain enough power to wipe out his enemies and finish his Father's plans to become God. As his Father's Pride, it was his duty to see that his Father's wishes were seen through, like any good son would do. He approached the tiny bird on his desk, it was sleeping and on the way to becoming fully healthy again. Selim had begged his mother to let the bird sleep with him tonight and she had finally relented after much begging. The bird remained unaware as the shadows made their way up the desk and gently squeezed the life from the bird. It had neither the time nor the energy to cry out; it just simply faded from existence. Tomorrow, Selim would cry over the bird's death while Pride hid, waiting for his time to come. The first break of dawn approached and the small boy climbed in bed. Pride receded into the depths of the boys' mind, where he would lay dormant and forgotten until days end. Yes, he could wait for all eternity if he had to, the world would be his. His pride wouldn't settle for anything less.

Well? Good, bad or indifferent? No pressure to review (though it would be nice ). Let me know what you think. Just a little One-shot i've been mulling over since Chap. 108. Hope you all enjoy and remember to keep writing. The Fullmetal Alchemist story is never over! bashing is frowned upon, but critic always welcome.


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